Paddy Pimblett has admitted disappointment after suffering his first UFC defeat in a brutal bout with Justin Gaethje, though promised that the sport had not seen the last of the British fighter. The 31-year-old Liverpudlian entered the fight in Las Vegas with a 7-0 record and survived a punishing five-round affair, losing narrowly with scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.
The experienced Gaethje used his nous and power to keep Pimblett on the back foot, winning the interim lightweight title and denying him a shot at Ilia Topuria. The American perhaps benefited from an unspotted poke to the eye, having already been warned about an earlier incident, although he was largely in control of the contest.
Pimblett, who has previously declared that he does not get knocked out, withstood significant punishment across 25 minutes and felt that the defeat was ultimately fair. “I wanted to be walking away with that belt, and I know how tough I am anyway; I don’t need to prove it to anyone,” he said in the cage after the fight. “I wanted to leave with that belt, but there’s no man I’d rather lose to than the ‘Highlight’, someone I grew up watching. It shows why he’s a legend, right there.”
He added: “I thought 48-47 was a fair scorecard. I’m not gonna lie, he hit me with a body shot in that first round, hit me right in the solar plexus, and it got me. I thought I was winning the round up until that point. I’m 31, you haven’t seen the last of me.” Pimblett will remain ranked in the top 10 and well placed to earn another title shot in the future.
Gaethje, meanwhile, is likely to take on Topuria later this year when the incumbent lightweight champion returns to the sport in the spring. Topuria, 28, has been taking a break from mixed martial arts due to a difficult moment in his personal life. Gaethje paid tribute to Pimblett in his post-fight interview, saying: “Scousers cannot get knocked out! This Scouser does not get knocked out, what a f***ing gangster.”
